Bird Studies Canada's Atlantic Program Manager, Becky Stewart, was chosen to participate in a Rotary International Group Study Exhange. Becky, along with three other young professionals, will be travelling to Maharashtra, India in November of 2012. Along the way, Becky will have the opportunity to meet with fellow BirdLife International partner, the Bombay Natural History Society. This blog was created so BSC members and rotarians alike can follow Becky on her upcoming adventure.

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Bird Studies Canada - Atlantic

I am very proud to be the Program Manager for the Atlantic Region where I work with an enthusiastic and dynamic team, of staff, partners and volunteers to deliver outreach, stewardship, monitoring and conservation programs. Here are a few program highlights but visit BSC-Atlantic for a complete list.

High Elevation Landbird Program

The Bicknell's Thrush is a habitat-specialist that breeds in high elevation, coniferous forests. It is found only in a very few places in the Maritimes including the Christmas Mountains in NB and the Cape Breton Highlands. BSC has monitored the Bicknell's Thrush in the Maritimes since 2002 and is a founding member of the International Bicknell's Thrush Conservation Group.

Nova Scotia Piping Plover Conservation Program

Every spring, Piping Plovers - sparrow-sized, endangered shorebirds - arrive at beaches across Atlantic Canada to breed. However, since 1991 the of number of breeding pairs of Piping Plovers returning to Nova Scotia's beaches has declined by 25%. In April 2006, BSC initiated the NS Piping Plover Conservation Program. Using population monitoring, habitat protection, and the dedication of volunteers and project partners, we aim to reverse the decline of Piping Plovers in NS.

Maritimes Swiftwatch

Historically, Chimney Swifts nested and roosted in large, hollow trees and snags in mature forests across eastern North America. As European settlers arrived and modified the landscape, these hollow trees and snags became increasingly scarce. Chimney Swifts adapted using the chimneys of schools, churches, houses, industrial buildings and other structures as nest and roost sites. However, steady advancements in heating technologies have changed the way we use our chimneys. Today the large, open chimneys of older buildings are being capped, steel-lined or torn down at a rapid pace and new buildings do not generally contain chimneys suitable for swifts. The loss of both natural and man-made habitat is suspected to be a major factor in the decline of Chimney Swift populations across the species' North American range, reflected by a 95% reduction of the Canadian population since 1968, and close to 50% range shrinkage in the Maritimes.

In 2010, BSC launched Maritimes Swiftwatch, a program to identify, maintain, and protect roost and nest sites and to ultimately increase the amount of suitable habitat for Chimney Swifts. Watch swifts entering one of the Maritimes' largest roost sites.